With the sisterhood relationship between Gyeonggi Province with Jiangsu Province, China’s second largest economy and the largest region for Korean investment in China, Gyeonggi Province now has sisterhood agreements with China’s first (Guangdong), second (Jiangsu) and third (Shandong) largest economies.

On June 19, Governor Kim met with Jiangsu Provincial Party Secretary Xin Changxing at Dodamso (gubernatorial residence) and said, “I am very pleased to upgrade the friendly relations between Jiangsu Province and Gyeonggi Province to sisterhood.” He continued, “I hope that your visit will serve as an opportunity to further promote cooperation in all fields of economy, industry, investment, people-to-people exchanges, culture and sports between the two provinces.”

“Jiangsu Province and our country have a deep historical relationship dating back to the Silla Dynasty, and President Xi Jinping has mentioned Dr. Choi Chi-won’s relationship with Jiangsu on many occasions,” Governor Kim added. “I hope that beyond Jiangsu and Gyeonggi Province, Korea and China will have an even closer and stronger partnership.”

“Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jiangsu and Qingdao have continued to promote enterprise investment, exchanges of students and government officials, and so on,” responded Party Secretary Xin. “We have a good foundation for exchanges and cooperation between the two provinces, and there is great potential for friendship in the future.”

He then made three suggestions: deepening offline exchange cooperation between Gyeonggi and Jiangsu and between municipalities; strengthening cooperation in industries such as semiconductors, new energy, and auto parts to realize mutual benefits; and actively promoting friendly exchanges in tourism, culture, education, and especially youth.

Of particular note, the two exchanged poems, proverbs and other quotations throughout the day, showing their interest in and respect for the history and culture of both countries.

Party Secretary Xin quoted the poem “通州從此屬吾鄉，可似崧陽似漢陽” (Tongju, Jiangsu Province, is now my hometown) by the Korean independence fighter Kim Taek-young of Changgang to express his interest in Gyeonggi Province. Kim Taek-young, a native of Gyeonggi Province, was an Old Korean scholar who defected to China in 1905 and settled in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, where he fought for independence, and a memorial in his honor was opened in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, in 2021.

Governor Kim also responded with a Chinese proverb and a poem by Li Bai. “故人西辭黃鶴樓，煙花三月下揚州” (I bid farewell to my naked ‘Huanghaklu’ and go down to the flowering spring and summer ‘Yangzhou, Jiangsu’), a line from the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet Li Baek’s poem “Sending a Friend to Yangzhou, Jiangsu,” was inscribed on the backdrop for the dinner celebrating the partnership between the two regions. Governor Kim also expressed the beauty of Jiangsu in his speech at the dinner, saying “上有天堂, 下有蘇杭” (If there is a heavenly hall in the sky, there is Suzhou in Jiangsu and Hangzhou in Zhejiang on earth).

On the first day of his visit to Gyeonggi Province at the invitation of Governor Kim, Party Secretary Xin signed an agreement to upgrade the friendship to sisterhood in 2011 and strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

On the same day, Gyeonggi and Jiangsu signed the “Gyeonggi Province-Jiangsu Province Sisterhood Agreement” to promote common development by expanding exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, education, environment, health, agriculture, tourism and humanities. The two provinces also decided to establish a working group to systematically strengthen cooperation.

Gyeonggi Province and Jiangsu Province have been engaged in exchanges and cooperation in various fields, such as sending environmental industry groups from Gyeonggi to Jiangsu, inviting Jiangsu medical personnel to Gyeonggi for training, exchanging agricultural science and technology, and exchanging civil servant training groups. Based on the achievements of cooperation and mutual trust, the two sides agreed to upgrade their friendship to sisterhood and have been preparing to sign the sisterhood agreement since last year.

Jiangsu Province is one of China’s top gross domestic product (GDP) regions, and many Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, LG Electronics, and Hankook Tire, have established a presence in the province. Jiangsu is also a symbolic region for Sino-Korean cooperation. It is the place where Silla scholar Choi Chi Won studied and served in the Tang Dynasty; in 2007, the Chinese government established the Choi Chi Won Memorial Hall, the first memorial hall for foreigners, and the Provisional Government Museum, where members of the Korean Provisional Government, including Mr. Kim Gu, stayed and fought for independence from Japan.

The signing ceremony was attended by Pang Kun, Consul General of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Korea, Park Jung-hee, Member of the National Assembly of the Korea-China Parliamentary Union, Park Seung-hee, President of Corporate Communications of Samsung Electronics, and Lee Soo-il, CEO and Vice Chairman of Hankook Tire & Technology. After signing the sisterhood agreement, the Jiangsu Province Party Secretary, the Jiangsu delegation members, the Consul General of China in Shanghai and members of the political and business communities attended a dinner to strengthen cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and Jiangsu Province.

Starting with his visit to China in November last year, where he met with Chinese State Councilor and Vice Premier for Economic Affairs Hu Jintao, Governor Dong Yeon Kim signed an in-depth cooperation agreement with Liaoning Provincial Party Chief Hao Feng in April, the first visit by a Chinese provincial party chief to Korea since COVID-19, and engaged in “chicken and beer diplomacy,” creating meaningful partnerships with both the central and local governments.

Gyeonggi Province will continue its efforts to develop bilateral relations with China by expanding new exchanges with China’s economic growth centers in the second half of this year.